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Duff McKagan: Guns N' Roses bassist may make you think 'beer'

September 14, 2011 | 9:30
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Duff McKagan, Guns N' Roses bassist from 1985 to 1997, has written an autobiography, set to be released Oct. 4, "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)." And among his tales is his connection to "The Simpsons": Duff Beer.

"A production company working on a new animated series called me to ask if they could use the name 'Duff' for a brand of beer in the show," McKagan claims, as reported by Zap2It. "Little did I know that the show would become 'The Simpsons.' " Soon, McKagan says, he was seeing Duff Beer paraphernalia "everywhere we toured."

McKagan as the Duffman? The resemblance between the musician and "The Simpsons' " character isn't strong, though both Duffs are blond and buff. McKagan still looks every bit the rocker, and his memoir is every bit the hard rocker's story.

His new book, he tells Billboard.com, tells of "my demise into addiction and stuff, and then my way out and my journey into things." His Guns N' Roses bandmates Steven Adler and Slash also have written memoirs. But McKagan says his is different: "This is just my story."

And it should be quite a story. A 1998 Los Angeles Times article tells of McKagan's years of alcohol and drug abuseand the toll they took. McKagan in 1994 found himself near death in a Seattle hospital after his pancreas exploded.

"I couldn't wake up without there being a cocktail next to my bed," he said. "It was just constant abuse."

McKagan went on to less traumatic times. After playing bass with Slash and fellow Guns N' Roses alum Matt Sorum in the group Velvet Revolver from 2002 to 2008, he formed the band Loaded, which he has coupled with a writing career. He has penned online articles for Seattle Weekly, ESPN and Playboy.